Whew! Are you incensed? Good because this topic is one worth getting worked up about. Let's talk soda, yes soda, or pop if you're from the midwest. It's everywhere and unless you put forth some serious effort, it's hard to avoid being sucked (pun intended) into the madness. The average American consumes 53 gallons per year! Here are some facts that might help derail you from offering this poison to your kids.

From the moment we find out that we are going to be parents, we are bombarded with information about how to keep them safe. We research the safest cribs, the safest car seats and strollers. We baby proof the whole house. Some parents choose to buy only organic baby food, or formula with only the finest ingredients. As the kids get bigger sometimes we try to keep them away from junk food. Eventually they get exposed to it, either through friends or school or even from home. Where do you draw the line? What do you decide to focus on? Sugared cereal, chips, candy, or soda? Do you ban all such things in the name of health, or do you throw your hands up overwhelmed by the quantity of "bad foods" and forget even trying? Why don't the warn you about this in parenting books? 

We hear lots about the importance of wearing helmets and seatbelts. We hear about eating healthy meals and fruits and vegetables. Soda seems to be the one thing that no one talks about as being dangerous for our kids. I don't recall the last time I saw or heard a TV commercial warning against the dangers of consuming soda. This is largely because most powerful companies in our country are soda companies. Their advertisements remind you about how happy life is and that summertime is not complete without a soda in your hand. If you're hot, grab an ice cold Coke. That'll quench your thirst! By the way, Coke spent $2.4 billion in 2017, on advertising. Global carbonated beverages market worth was estimated over $340 billion in 2014. How many ads have you seen about drinking water?

Forget about baby proofing your doorknobs, get rid of the soda! Here are a few reasons why:

1. Typical soda drinks are loaded with sodium, which of course makes them taste salty. It also makes you want to drink more and more because it dehydrates you. However, if you were to try to sell a glass full of salt water, no one would buy it. So they add in insane amounts of high fructose corn syrup, occasionally cane sugar or, even worse, aspartame. They have to put so much sweetener in there to disguise the taste of the salt. Leaving you with highly concentrated sugar and sodium levels, and nothing else. Sounds delicious doesn't it? 

2. If that's not enough to cause you to steer clear, here's the next reason to avoid it. The way soda is processed in your body is determined by its primary source of sweet flavor. Usually it's high fructose corn syrup. Fructose naturally occurs in fruit, where it is found in its natural state and paired with fiber, which allows your body to easily process it. When we started manufacturing foods, we found a way to concentrate sugar found in things like fruit. We were able to concentrate it and remove the fiber, which fills you up. Leaving lots of sweet yumminess and the ability to eat as much as you like without feeling full. Can anyone say empty calories?

3. When we consume the processed fructose, it's broken down in our liver. There's another substance processed in our liver that you won't find in a school vending machine any time soon, alcohol. Ethanol, to be exact, found in your average beer. What makes this dangerous is, the excess fat that is stored on your liver as a result of the fructose and ethanol breaking down. When large amounts are consumed, your liver gets fatty and is unable to perform its natural function. This is known as non-alcoholic fatty liver syndrome. This is just as deadly as the liver failure caused by alcohol consumption. There's also another place that you'll notice fat appearing as you consume bottle after bottle of beer or soda, your waist line. We all have heard the expression "beer belly", right? When you look around at today's youth, you'll notice a similar body shape developing. It's not genetic, it's strictly a result of the environment in which they are raised. They are developing "soda belly" and the damage can be irreversible.

So you think to yourself, "Ok then diet soda or soda zero it is." That should eliminate all the bad effects from fructose. Yes, BUT, now you have a whole new set of problems that are worse than consuming fructose. Aspartame and other sugar replacement chemicals have been shown to be addictive and dangerous to our health. In a 22-year landmark study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition involving over 125,000 people, significant links were found between daily intake of aspartame and the development of leukemia and lymphoma. They also stated, "Aspartame (especially in liquids) breaks down into aspartic acid, methanol, and phenylalanine; when ingested, methanol turns into formaldehyde—a known carcinogen." Plus, the consumption of diet beverages has been linked to metabolic syndrome and obesity. This is a much longer conversation for another time.

So the next time that you go to get your child a drink, think about whether or not you would hand them a beer. If the answer is no, please don't give them a soda either. Water is what they need. Good clean water, the source of life and the only thing that keeps all creatures and plants alive. Sadly sports drinks are just as bad. Replacing electrolytes is important, especially for athletes. There are many healthy alternatives, including coconut water and milk. Not even that apple juice, that you've been told is so good for them, is a good idea. Unfortunately juice is also loaded with all the wrong things, the only redeeming quality is that it does contain some vitamins. If you want to add flavor, infuse the water with fruit and citrus. Let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and it'll have great flavor. It'll take some time for everyone's taste buds to adjust but it'll happen. Stay strong and remember if they're thirsty they'll drink, even if it's boring old water!

Heather Dumas HD Transformations 

Transform your body, Transform your life

Are you ready for your daily dose of parental guilt? Let's talk soda. From the moment we find out that we are going to be parents, we are bombarded with information about how to keep them safe. We research the safest cribs, the safest car seats and strollers. We baby proof the whole house. Some parents choose to buy only organic baby food, or formula with only the finest ingredients. As the kids get bigger sometimes we try to keep them away from junk food. Eventually they get exposed to it, either through friends or school or even from home. Where do you draw the line? What do you decide to focus on? 

We hear lots about the importance of wearing helmets and seatbelts. We hear about eating healthy meals and fruits and vegetables. Soda seems to be the one thing that no one talks about as being dangerous for our kids. I don't recall the last time I saw or hear anything warning against the dangers of consuming soda.This is largely because most powerful companies in our country are soda companies. Their advertisements remind you about how happy life is and that summertime is not complete without a soda in your hand. 

So here is why your number one concern should not be buying organic or baby proofing or anything else, but it should be not allowing soda. Typical soda drinks are loaded with sodium, which of course makes them taste salty. It also makes you want to drink more and more because it dehydrates you. However if try to sell a glass full of salt water, no one would buy it. So they add in insane amounts of high fructose corn syrup, occasionally cane sugar or, even worse, aspartame. They have to put so much sweetener in there to disguise the taste of the salt. Leaving you with highly concentrated sugar and sodium levels and nothing else. Sounds delicious doesn't it? If that's not enough to cause you to steer clear, here's the worst part.

The way soda is processed in your body is determined by its primary source of sweet flavor. Usually it's high fructose corn syrup. Fructose naturally occurs in fruit where it is found in its natural state and paired with fiber, which allows your body to easily process it. When we started manufacturing foods, we found a way to concentrate that sugar found in all the things that we loved like fruit. We also did it without the fiber which fills you up. Leaving lots of sweet yumminess and the ability to eat as much as you like without feeling full. Unfortunately, when we consume the processed fructose, also known as high fructose corn syrup, it's processed in our liver. There's another substance processed in our liver that we definitely don't ever recommend giving the children, alcohol. Ethanol, to be exact, found in your average beer, is processed in your liver and what makes it dangerous is the fat that is stored on your liver as a result. When excess amounts are consumed, your liver gets fatty and is unable to perform its natural function. The same thing happens when excess amounts of fructose are consumed. This is known as non-alcoholic fatty liver syndrome. This is just as deadly as the liver failure caused by alcohol consumption! There's another place that you'll notice that appearing as you consume bottle after bottle of beer or soda and that is around the middle of your waist line we all have heard the expression we are Valley you look around at today's youth, you'll notice the similar body shape developing your in know this It's not genetic current it's strictly a result of the environment in which they are raised.

So you think to yourself OK then diet soda or soda 0 it is not show the limiting the problem with the front toes right? And is in fact worse than consuming house aspartame and other sugar free placement chemicals have been shown to be addictive and dangerous to our health. 

So the next time that you go to get your child a drink, think about whether or not you would hand them a beer. If the answer is no, please don't give them a soda either.Water is what they need, not sports drinks, not even that Apple juice that you've been told is so good for them. Unfortunately juice is also loaded with all the wrong things, the only redeeming factor is that it does have some vitamins. If you want to add flavor, infuse the water with fruit and citrus. Let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and it'll have great flavor. It'll take some time for everyone's taste buds to adjust but it'll happen. Stay strong and remember if they're thirsty they'll drink, period. Heather Dumas HD Transformations Transform your body, Transform your life